Slytherin Sacrifice
by Jada Ryl
Summary: There were two Slytherins who defied Voldemort. This is my take on what would have happened if they had worked together to destroy the Horcrux from HPB. Not slash. Character death.


**Disclaimer:** I am not from the UK. I do not have blond hair. Therefore I cannot be J. K. Rowling. Since I am not J. K. Rowling, I cannot possibly own the Harry Potter franchise. All these people who have nothing better to do than find someone to sue not only cause extra paperwork, cost everyone more money, and generally drive everyone mad, but also give the rest of us Slytherins a really bad name.

**Author's Note:** I was already thinking of Regulus seeking Severus out in the Horcrux incident. Then, earlier today, I saw a picture on of the two of them -- The Bravest, I believe it was called. This is the result. This goes with a WIP where Severus did not join the Death Eaters voluntarily. Surely Harry wasn't the first person to take "Remedial Potions". How better for a Potions Professor to teach something secretly -- and I doubt that anyone would have to suggest it to him! Also, I'm assuming Severus began teaching at Hogwarts a bit before he actually started spying for Dumbledore. I'm placing him as having just turned 20 at the time of this fic. It's perhaps 1 to 2 months since he officially joined Dumbeldore. I've decided that Regulus' birthday is somewhere between October and December, so at this point, he 17, but still a Sixth Year.

And for the record, I very much doubt that Regulus truly realized what he was getting into when he took the Mark. If he would turn against Voldemort when Kreacher was mistreated, he doesn't seem to be the hardened killer type. Anyway, on with the fic.

_**Slytherin Sacrifice**_

Severus stared at Dumbledore. The revelation made his blood freeze. So he and Regulus had been right all those years ago. Why had Regulus insisted on leaving him behind? Of course, he knew the answer to that question. If only his friend had not sworn him to secrecy, perhaps... Just perhaps he would not have to face killing his scheming mentor now. Yet even now, he could say nothing of what he knew.

Severus sighed. "Very well, Headmaster," he bit out. "But you have no idea what you are asking." He spun on his heel and stalked away.

Dumbledore may not have told him the nature of that cursed ring, but Severus was not stupid. He knew the remains of a Horcrux when he saw it. How many flaming Horcruxes has the ruddy Dark Lord made? Small wonder the wizard was deformed and half mad! And how many more lives would end trying to destroy them all? Regulus, Dumbledore, eventually Potter... Severus clenched his jaw. Who had he been fooling a moment ago? Even if he and Regulus had been able to destroy that locket, the Dark Lord would still have returned.

A grimace twisted the professor's lips. The whole subject of Horcruxes brought back so many memories from his first year teaching. How many times had Regulus been the one to staunch the bleeding from his Mark? Especially once they had begun the plan to destroy that Horcrux. How many nights had he spent in the Room of Requirement studying how to destroy it? And honestly, Regulus had been one of the most talented wizards at Hogwarts. No, Lily was not at all the only reason he wanted Voldemort defeated.

* * * * * * * *

_Eleven years earlier_

Severus looked up at the knock on his door. He shook his hair out of his face. "Come in," he called, wondering who could possibly be bothering him at this hour of the night.

The door cracked open and a lanky Sixth Year slipped in. He quietly shut the door behind him. "Sev," the young man whispered. "I... There's something I need to ask you."

Severus frowned. "Regulus, you're breaking curfew, you know," he drawled. "Besides, it's absurdly late. Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

The student shook his head. "Severus, I can't risk anyone else finding out." Severus took in his haunted, almost wild eyes. "It's -- it's a life and death matter."

Severus put down his quill and pulled out his wand. After casting a silent _Muffliato_, he turned back to his former Housemate. "What do you need, Reg?"

"Do you remember that poison, Severus? The one the Dark Lord made you brew right before school started?" Regulus clenched and unclenched his fists. "The one that could be spelled to replentish itself?"

Severus fought the urge to vomit as he remembered the vile concoction. "Unfortunately. What of it?" He pinned his pupil with his eyes.

"I found out what he did with it, Sev." The boy seemed to grow more distraught with each word. "He used it as protections for a locket -- so no one can touch it. He made Kreacher dring a whole basin of the stuff. The poor House Elf nearly died trying to get a drink of water afterward. He wouldn've died if I hadn't told him to come back. Inferi."

Severus frowned. "Slow down, Reg..." Something was out of place. Why go to such lengths over a necklace? Even a valuable one? "You're telling me that the Dark Lord did not use the locket and thepotion to create and activate the Inferi? That the potion and the Inferi are there to protect the locket? You are absolutely certain?"

Regulus nodded. "I'm positive," he confirmed, speaking so fast that his words nearly ran together. "You know what that's got to mean, don't you? You know there's only one reason he'd put such protection on a necklace. And he's obsessed enough with immortality to do it. You know even better than I do how much he relishes killing, and if he could make himself immortal at the same time..."

"He'd do it." Severus felt his mind spin. Regulus' logic made chilling sense. As obsessed as the Dark Lord was with both immortality and the Dark Arts, he himself should have thought of such a possibility years ago. How could he have been so stupid? "The locket is a Horcrux," He whispered. "Merlin, Regulus, no wonder he talks like he's invincible."

The black-haired youth nodded again. "I need your help, Sev," he said, calming to start into Severus' eyes. "I know you're not really one of them. Kreacher can take me to it, but I don't know how to destroy a Horcrux."

Severus frowned, pondering their options. "I'll ask the Headmaster --"

"No," Regulus interrupted firmly. "You can't tell him. He'll try to find the Horcrux himself. The Dark Lord will find out and none of us will ever have a chance to destroy it. Promise me, Severus. Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"Very well," Severus replied slowly. "I will not tell anyone else."

"You'll make the Unbreakable Vow?" the younger man asked.

Severus hesitated. That seemed a little drastic. On the other hand, what could it harm? If it reassured Regulus... "If you can find a Bonder, Reg," he said quietly.

"I'm going for it once school end," Regulus stated. "The sooner it's gone, the better. I think I can keep Kreacher safe until then."

"We'll be ready by then," Severus promised. "I'll have to put you down for Remedial Potions, though. So no one will suspect what we're really doing."

"Severus, no one will believe I'm that bad at Potions," the Sixth Year objected.

Severus smiled. "Certainly not," he agreed. "But they would believe that I would use such a cover to teach you Potions that no Sixth Year curricula cover. One of the benefits of being in Slytherin."

Regulus grinned slyly. "I think I could convince the whole school of that," he agreed.

"It's settled, then," Severus concluded. "We'll train during Remedial Potions and find the locket as soon as --"

"No, Severus," Regulus interrupted. "You can't go with me. I might not be able to destroy it in time. I need to be able to send it to you if something goes wrong."

Sudden realization hit Severus in the gut. His friend expected to die. Whoever went after the locket would not return. Regulus had claimed a suicide mission. "I'm older, more experienced, Reg," he whispered. "I should be the one to go."

Regulus shook his head vehemently. "Kreacher belongs to my family, not yours," he said slowly. "So only someone from my family can do it. I have to be the one."

Severus' wand hand twitched. How he ached to kill the Dark Lord for this. "Then I will make sure that Horcrux get destroyed," he promised. He would not let Regulus die in vain.

* * * * * * * *

_Four months later_

Regulus twisted against the dead hands that pulled him deeper under the water. He had to get to the surface just one last time. Somehow, he had to tell Kreacher to take the locket to Severus. Another Inferus grabbed hold of him, crushing the air out of his lungs. No, he couldn't die yet. He had not sent Kreacher to the only other person who knew about the Horcrux.

But... Kreacher was a House Elf. He would have to find a way to destroy it. Regulus himself had given the order. He had not failed after all. His diaphram convulsed instinctively. His last thought as the water burned his nose and filled his throat was that it had been worth the sacrifice. The Dark Lord would fall.

* * * * * * * *

_Twelve years later_

Severus sighed quietly as he watched the teenager stab the locket. Not even a Horcrux could survive a Goblin blade imbued with Basilisk venom. "Well, it's gone, Regulus," he breathed. "It's taken far longer than we expected and I wasn't the one to hold the blade, but we did it. All of us." He no longer doubted that Voldemort would fall. Now he knew for certain that the end had arrived. That every sacrifice ever made to resist the Dark Lord's power was worth it.

The End


End file.
